Tennis

New York | US Open offers record $75 million in player compensation

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3 months ago

August 9, 2024

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New York | US Open offers record million in player compensation

The likes of Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Jannick Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz and the 500 or so other players at the US Open will be playing for a record $75 million in compensation at the last Grand Slam of the year, which represents a rise of around 15% from 2023.

The women’s and men’s singles champions will each receive $3.6 million, the USTA announced this week, while all rounds played in Queens will see an increase in the prize money.

Last year was the 50th year of equal prize money for men and women at the US Open, and this year the singles champions each will see a 20% rise from $3 million to $3.6 million, but the amount remains below the pre-pandemic pay cheque of $3.85 million that went to each winner in 2019.

1st-round main-draw losers in both the men’s and women’s singles will pocket $100,000 for the first time, which is a 23% increase from 12 months ago, and represents an increase of 72% over the past 5 years, from $58,000 in 2019.

Prize money for final-round qualifying losers has also increased by 63%, which was $32,000 in 2019 over that same time period, to reach $52,000 this year, which is 16% higher than in 2023.

Total prize money for men’s and women’s doubles will increase by 9% from 2023, while total prize money for the mixed doubles is increasing by 18%.

Coco Gauff is the defending women’s champion, having defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win her first Grand Slam title at the US Open last year

The total compensation, which includes money to cover players’ expenses, increases by $10 million from the $65 million in 2023, and is touted by the USTA as ‘the largest purse in tennis history’.

The full compensation package puts the US Open ahead of the sport’s other 3 major championships in 2024, which, based on currency exchange figures at the times of the events, saw Wimbledon offering around $64 million, and the French Open and Australian Open both at about $58 million.

Last year at Flushing Meadows, Gauff won her first Grand Slam title, and Djokovic earned his 24th, extending his record for the most by a man in tennis history.

Play in the main draws for singles begins on 26 August at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and concludes with the women’s final on 7 September and the men’s final on 8 September.

There is no US Open Wheelchair Championships presented by Deloitte being staged in 2024 due to the Paralympic Games, and the USTA has made the decision to provide the players that would have been entered into the US Open via direct acceptance with a player grant to ensure that these players are receiving the equivalent of prize money as compensation.